My hair was falling out in handfuls. In the kitchen, staring at the cleaver, I actually thought about ending it right there.

That month locked inside, Alex would come by occasionally. Every time, I hoped a bottle of sleeping pills would mean I'd never have to see him again.

Days bled into nights. I couldn't tell them apart anymore.

When he found me lying on the bed, barely conscious, Alex slapped me awake.

"You'd better stay alive. Anything happens to you, your dad's next."

My father was critically ill. The treatment costs were astronomical. I'd just graduated—not a penny to my name. Alex had paid for everything. The best doctors. The best care.

He flung the medical bills in my face.

"Without me, could your dad afford any of this?"

That slap woke me up in more ways than one.

I hadn't wronged anyone. Why was I the one suffering?

If Alex could have countless lovers, why couldn't I?

He demanded I be his. He never demanded I be his alone.

Once I understood that, I accepted his terms gladly.

That was when Alex Gilbert entered my life.

I took a lover too—Alex Delgado's closest friend.

The next morning, Alex was blocking my doorway.

Face dark. Hair a mess.

"I texted you last night. Why didn't you answer?"

I was carrying out the trash. "Isn't this what you wanted?"

That sentence lit him on fire. He lunged forward, grabbed my chin, and bit down hard on my lips.

Blood flooded my mouth.

I shoved him back.

"This is what you call loving me? Wanting to marry me?"

"You went back to the States and slept with someone else."

"And now you're standing at my door."

"You're disgusting."

I said it word by word, staring straight into his eyes.

The rage in them nearly combusted. He slammed his fist into the wall.

"Just wait." He spat the words and stormed off.

My heart was pounding out of my chest.

He didn't know that right now, Alex Gilbert was still lying naked in my bed.

I didn't take the threat seriously. Usually he'd just sleep with some other girl for a night to spite me.

I didn't expect this.

Soon after, Alex sent me a photo from the hospital.

My father was in the background, unconscious on the bed.

Then a video. In it, he pointed at the oxygen tank, smiling, asking what I thought would happen if he pulled it out.

I shook so hard I could barely walk.

I grabbed a cab and burst into the ward like a madwoman.

What I saw made me bite through my lip.

My father lay still, unconscious.

And there was Alex in the chair beside him. Nurse Tanya was curled naked in his lap, arms draped around his neck.

In my father's hospital room.

The nurse looked at me, smug, shifting her body against him.

My vision went red.

"How can you be this shameless?"

Alex shoved her off and stood, smirking.

"This is what happens when you don't listen to me."

As he spoke, he walked to my father's bedside.

He looked at me smugly and reached for the oxygen mask.

"Don't!"

Rage ignited every nerve. I lunged, grabbed his hair, clawed his face, and swung my handbag straight into his skull.

Tanya tackled me to the floor.

I twisted, snatched the phone from the ground, and cracked it against her head.

Alex shoved me off. My lower back slammed into the bed frame. I tried to stand—once, twice—but the pain pinned me down.

He pulled out a coil of rope from somewhere.

Before I could react, he'd clamped my wrists together and lashed my hands and feet to the hospital bed rails.

"I've spoiled you too much."

"That's why you've forgotten your place."

I bit down hard, refusing to let a single tear fall.

But cold dread was already pooling in my chest.

Tied up. Immobilized. Helpless. I was terrified of what he'd do next.

He shoved me into the adjacent room.

All the blood drained from my face.

"What are you doing?" My voice cracked.

"I offered you the chance to be my canary. You didn't appreciate it."

"Women would kill for this opportunity. With Delgado money behind them? They'd cling to this family in a heartbeat."

He gripped my chin, forcing my gaze to his.

"I don't even have to lift a finger. They throw themselves at me."

His eyes flicked to the doorway. Tanya stood there, face arranged in worship.

"So here's what's going to happen. I'll sit right here while you reflect. The moment you admit you were wrong, I'll untie you."

He dropped into the chair across from me and let out a low, certain laugh.

Terror crashed over me. Every hair on my body stood on end.

Because I'd been tied up exactly like this before. In Eldoria. By kidnappers.

My body began to shake uncontrollably. Silently, desperately, I prayed someone would come.

When I first found Alex, I had no idea he was the Delgado heir.

He'd been hit by a car—that's why he'd lost his memory. A vagrant had stolen whatever cash he had.

I was dirt poor back then. We lived together in a cramped, run-down house in the suburbs.

One day after school, the moment I stepped out the gate, masked men dragged me into a van.

They kept saying something about "the Delgado family," "Mr. Delgado."

I didn't understand a word. I was certain I'd die in a foreign country.

Then they realized their mistake.

They'd meant to kidnap the Delgado heir—Alex—but grabbed me instead.

They tied me to a bed. Wrists and ankles bound to the frame.

Furious at their own incompetence, they decided to take it out on me.

"Wrong girl? Doesn't matter. She's pretty enough."

"Been a while since we had any fun. Might as well enjoy ourselves. Then dump her in the snow."

They rubbed their hands together. Their eyes crawled over me like I was meat on a plate.

Just when I thought it was over, Alex burst in with patrol officers and pulled me out.

He knew that memory was my nightmare. And he was using it against me anyway.

Nausea surged. I retched miserably against the mattress.

I was waiting for Alex Gilbert. He was my only hope.

Before I came, I'd told him: if I didn't message within half an hour, come to the hospital immediately.

Alex's ice-cold hand slid down my neck.

He undid the first button of my blouse.

I shuddered.

"What are you trying to do?"

I tried to kick him, but my feet were bound tight.

He looked at me with displeasure, his palm pressing down on my ankle.

"You're mine. I can do whatever I want."

Those disgusting memories surged up again.

A tear slid from the corner of my eye. Finally, I steeled myself. "Alex Delgado, I have a lover."

"Guess who it is?" I stared at him, venom in my eyes.

The smugness on his face froze instantly.

"Who?" Veins bulged on his forehead, his hand clenching into a fist.

"Your good buddy. Alex Gilbert." I pitched my voice sickly-sweet and smiled, each word a knife twisting into his chest.